World Insights:NATO chief in Washington to soothe strains amid persisting rifts

BRUSSELS, June 25 — NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is in Washington this week for talks with U.S. President Donald Trump and other senior officials, seeking to smooth over months of transatlantic friction before July’s NATO summit in Ankara.

Yet analysts warn that the underlying structural disagreements over defense spending, burden-sharing, and strategic priorities are unlikely to be resolved anytime soon.

SUMMIT PRELUDE AMID ESCALATING PRESSURE

Rutte’s visit comes at a particularly tense moment. Just before his departure, Trump publicly reprimanded NATO allies, singling out Britain, Germany and Italy for refusing to support the U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Iran.

“They weren’t too nice to us in our recent little military skirmish,” he said. “We don’t need their money — we don’t need anything. We have the most powerful military in the world by far. But I just want loyalty.”